


Sinking

by Plum_in_Cryo



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Drowning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-07-21 13:32:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7388965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Plum_in_Cryo/pseuds/Plum_in_Cryo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The fleeting moments between falling from the helicarrier and being dragged from the river.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sinking

Air, such a precious commodity. Steve's lungs screamed for it. All around his head, water stirred, murky and dark with flashes of sparks fizzling out. Soon his own life would follow suit. He would fizzle out for lack of oxygen.

     For all the trauma he had endured in the last ten minutes, Steve was calm. The pain from his side was gone. His shoulder and leg did not smart. His abdomen was not burning. His face was not throbbing. He was completely numb. The peace he felt physically allowed him a moment of reflection before all thought would cease.

     Like the water around him, his thoughts stirred murky and dark, but with flares of light. He and Bucky meeting for the first time. He and Bucky going to school. Bucky nursing him when he was sick. Bucky checking in on him after his mother's funeral. Bucky rescuing him from another back alley brawl. Steve rescuing Bucky from Hydra, or so he had thought. Darkness rimmed so many of his most cherished memories. The danger, the fear, sickness, death, loss, all were present in his memories. The darkness formed his memories and therefore him.

     Oblivious to his physical environment, save the cold pull of the river as it brought him closer to death, Steve did not see the splash created by a diver in the water, did not feel the touch of the stranger's arm, did not witness the man’s struggle swimming for two with a broken arm.

     Suddenly, the sun was warmer on Steve’s face. His mind shifted from its dark place and began to drink in the light. Steve could hear Bucky's voice now so clearly it amazed him, "Sometimes I think you like getting punched." Steve tried to chuckle, but his lungs were full of water. Coughing, Steve cleared the fluid from his chest and made way for air, glorious air.

     Taking a breath, Steve tried to open his eyes, but one was swollen shut and the other was too sore to move. He fought the exasperating optic and tried to wrench it open. Steve was sure that Bucky's voice had not been in his mind. Bucky was standing near him. He could feel it. If he could only open his eyes.

     Someone or something, Steve knew it was Bucky, shifted in the gravel on his left. Realizing that he would not be able to see, Steve listened with all his might. It sounded like the person had turned to walk away, but then had stopped indecisive of which path to take. A breath was taken, long and shaky, then released slowly, thoughtfully. A voice spoke.

     "Don't do anything stupid until I get back."


End file.
